Fans of ancient naval warfare, rejoice, for your ship has come in! Shrapnel Games would
like to announce that we will be publishing Galley Battles: From Salamis to Actium, an
exciting turn-based computer game covering the very early days of naval warfare.
Developed by Spanish developer Hyperborea Studios (lead designer Xavier Rubio and
lead artist Ruben Zubillaga), Galley Battles: From Salamis to Actium is expected to ship
summer of 2006 and will be available for the Windows and Linux operating systems. It
will also be the first multi-lingual game published by Shrapnel, with gamers being able to
play in either English, Spanish, or Catalan.

Galley Battles: From Salamis to Actium is classic hex and turn based wargaming while
taking advantage of everything a computer can offer a wargamer. Scale-wise each hex
represents 50 meters, a turn will be about five minutes, and each ship will be represented
individually. Maps can be as big as 512 x 512 hexes, and battles can involve as many as
five hundred ships!

Multiplayer action is possible through either hotseat or PBEM play, and a full featured
scenario editor will be included. Turns are simultaneous WEGO phases, and thanks to
the innovative command structure in Galley Battles: From Salamis to Actium, players
will easily be able to manage massive engagements. What the system does is allow
players to sketch out the basic general orders at the start of a battle, and once in the heat
of battle more detailed orders via individual squadrons are then given. Of course you can
also keep your order level at a higher level of command; how much or how little you
wish to micro-manage is entirely up to you!

Galley Battles: From Salamis to Actium will cover the Greek-Persian Wars,
Peloponnesian Wars, the First Punic War, and ends with the Roman Civil War featuring
Actium in 31 BC. Your fleets are not manned by automatons, as the game system places
a strong emphasis on fatigue and morale, with the battle actions that ships witness
affecting their morale up or down. Likewise, just because your ship may have the
capability to move ten hexes in a given turn it may not do so, as the sailors can be worn
down, or show their inexperience. Thus, it is not enough to simply take into account how
many ships you are engaging with, but you must know the capabilities of your sailors on
those ships. Expect a novice, overworked squadron to save the day and you may find
their squadron floundering and flung out in a chaotic fashion even before making contact
with the enemy!

Plenty of chrome will be found in the game, such as beautiful animations showcasing
ramming and boarding, the ability to capture and recapture ships, unique leaders,
specialized units, and more. Galley Battles: From Salamis to Actium also features
realistic and diverse tactics for the combatants, as fighting against the Greeks in 480 BC
will be quite different than fighting against the Romans four hundred years later. There
are plenty of orders to give, from individually commanding ships to turn to ordering an
entire squadron to adopt a hedgehog formation.

While almost a year away everyone at Shrapnel is totally excited about this title, as it
represents what independent consim gaming is all about; creating fascinating titles that
examine facets of warfare that often are overlooked.

Designer Xavier Rubio had this to say on his game: "Galley Battles: from Salamis to
Actium will recreate the most famous naval battles of ancient history, from the Greek and
Persian Wars to the Roman Empire. This is a personal project, made by a wargamer to
wargamers, where we have put plenty of hours and effort to create the game that we
wanted to play. Our objective is to create a serious wargame focused on the problem of
morale and command instead of purely micro-management. The command system is
truly original. The player will be able to give orders to big formations in the beginning of
the battle, and create smaller squadrons after this phase, when the battle will become
more chaotic and detailed orders are needed to manage engagements. The possibility to
reform the ships on a new battle line is given, as well as the capture and reuse of
enemy ships."

Expect more on Galley Battles: From Salamis to Actium in the future! In the meantime,
be sure to check out www.shrapnelgames.com for our complete line of award-winning
and innovative computer, board, and role-playing games and stay abreast of all the latest
news!